The battle for third place will commence on Saturday as the United States take on Panama in a rematch of the third and final game of group play less than two weeks ago.
Team USA enters the bronze medal game with heavy hearts after a stunning defeat by Jamaica on Wednesday, destroyed their hopes of defending their Gold Cup title.
The U.S. were the heavy favorites to repeat heading into the tournament and could have tied Mexico by winning their sixth Gold Cup title of all time. Instead of the collision course they appeared to be on with their neighbors to the South, the Stars and Stripes were stunned by the Reggae Men, 2-1 in the semifinals.
Midfielder Michael Bradley scored USA"s only goal in the semifinal and still believes that his team can end the tournament on a high note despite the disappointing loss.
"We have a responsibility to ourselves, to our fans, to step on the field and play well, to compete and to give anybody who walks into that stadium a good show," Bradley told Sports Illustrated on Friday. "And we'll do that."
The shocking loss to Jamaica who had never made it to a Gold Cup Final and had only defeated the U.S. once in their country's history had soccer experts calling for USMNT head coach Jurgen Klinsmann's job after a poor tactical strategy and goalkeeper play led to the early exit.
Klinsmann admitted to the media on Friday that he expected his team to be playing in the finals on Sunday, and that a loss on Saturday could be hazardous to keep his job. However, he believes he will have his players ready and that they will do their best to beat Panama.
"Obviously, it's not the game we wanted to be in," Klinsmann said. "They are professionals. They have the responsibility to go out there and give everything they have. And we coaches, we have the responsibility to tell them that, probably a few more times than we usually do it."
Panama comes into their 2013 Gold Cup final rematch with the United States after suffering a more painful 2-1 loss than America did. The 10-men Panama team carried a one-goal lead into the 89th minute before a controversial penalty call in the box gave Mexico a miracle equalizer.
A second penalty in extra time sealed Panama's fate, and now they are forced to play less than three days after playing in a game they believe was stolen from them.
"In the midst of this pain, we feel the Panamanian National Team lifts itself up with dignity and plays on in this Gold Cup, for our country, for the respect our rival deserves in the third place match, and for all those who believe this sport is good, despite some wanting to convert it into something totally different to its nature," the team said in a statement.
Panama will play the match without Luis Tejada who was given a red card suspension in the first half against Mexico. They will also be without Valentin Peimentel and LA Galaxy goalkeeper Jaime Penedo who was handed down a two-match ban after an incident with the referee.
Prediction: 2-0 USA
Betting Favorite: USA -1
Over/Under: 2.5 Goals
The match will kickoff on Saturday, July 25, 2015 at 4:00PM EST from PPL Park in Chester, Pennsylvania. It will air live on Fox Sports 2 and on UniMas in Spanish. It can be live streamed here. If you prefer to watch the match on your mobile device, please download the Fox Sports Go app from your app store.
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